The five presidential candidates on Tuesday called for the destruction of the Islamic state after the terrorist group took responsibility for bombings in Brussels, Belgium that killed at least 30 people.

Perhaps the hardest line was voiced by Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who not only called for a “coherent campaign” to destroy ISIS, but also said law enforcement officials in the United States should be empowered to “patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods before they become radicalized.”

Advertisement

Related Content

Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump reiterated his view that Muslims should be temporarily banned from entering the United States, while Democrat Hillary Clinton said the attacks will strengthen the bond between the United States and its allies to “defeat terrorism and radical jihadism around the world.”

Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Cruz both said that President Barack Obama should cut short his visit to Cuba. Kasich said Obama should return home and begin to lead a response to the crisis, while Cruz said the president should either return home or go to Brussels.

“What I hope he will say (is that) he's leaving Cuba and heading back to the White House (and) he’s going to begin to organize meetings with the leaders around the world,” Kasich said on Fox News. “And at the same time get himself in the position of where we can send teams of people immediately to Europe to begin to dig in terms of what we need to do to address the vulnerabilities we have.”

Cruz told reporters in Washington, “President Obama should be back in America keeping this country safe, or President Obama should be planning to travel to Brussels.”

Here are the statements, or excerpts of the statements, released by the candidates following the attacks.

Democrat Bernie Sanders:

“We offer our deepest condolences to the families who lost loved ones in this barbaric attack and to the people of Brussels who were the target of another cowardly attempt to terrorize innocent civilians. We stand with our European allies to offer any necessary assistance in these difficult times."

"Today's attack is a brutal reminder that the international community must come together to destroy ISIS. This type of barbarism cannot be allowed to continue.”

Republican John Kasich:

“The wave of terror that has been unleashed in Europe and elsewhere around the world are attacks against our very way of life and against the democratic values upon which our political systems have been built.”

“We and our allies must rededicate ourselves to these values of freedom and human rights. We must utterly reject the use of deadly acts of terror."

“We must also redouble our efforts with our allies to identify, root out and destroy the perpetrators of such acts of evil. We must strengthen our alliances as our way of life and the international system that has been built on our common values since the end of the Second World War comes under challenge from these and other actors of evil.”

“My thoughts and prayers are with the victims of the attacks and with the people of Belgium.

Democrat Hillary Clinton:

“Terrorists have once again struck at the heart of Europe, but their campaign of hate and fear will not succeed. The people of Brussels, of Europe, and of the world will not be intimidated by these vicious killers. Today, Americans stand in solidarity with our European allies.”

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those killed and wounded, and all the people of Belgium. These terrorists seek to undermine the democratic values that are the foundation of our alliance and our way of life, but they will never succeed. Today’s attacks will only strengthen our resolve to stand together as allies and defeat terrorism and radical jihadism around the world.”

Republican Ted Cruz:

“For years, the west has tried to deny this enemy exists out of a combination of political correctness and fear. We can no longer afford either. Our European allies are now seeing what comes of a toxic mix of migrants who have been infiltrated by terrorists and isolated, radical Muslim neighborhoods.”

“We need to immediately halt the flow of refugees from countries with a significant al-Qaida or ISIS presence. We need to empower law enforcement to patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods before they become radicalized.”

“We need to secure the southern border to prevent terrorist infiltration. And we need to execute a coherent campaign to utterly destroy ISIS. The days of the United States voluntarily surrendering to the enemy to show how progressive and enlightened we are at an end. Our country is at stake.”

Republican Donald Trump:

Trump said on CBS News: “I would be extremely careful about people from the Middle East coming into our country. I would be extremely careful as to what’s going on. You have an ISIS problem that’s a massive problem. They want to come in, they want to do big damage, and I would be extremely careful about that.”